Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood

PublishedSeptember 2, 2007

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood at the 2007 Detroit Jazzfest – Woot !
Well, as much as I was thrilled to see these guys again, especially with John Scofield – the Jazzfest people managed to totally fuck it up. An orgy of bullshit pseudo security, clusterfuck stage arrangement, V.I.P. restricted seating – at a FREE concert ? Pblah. 99% obscured view – unless you are one of the “special” people. Leave it to Detroit to turn such a wonderful cultural event into an elitist, insider, “perks only”, self serving toy.
After Brother John Sinclair came out to end the show and whip the crowd into a frenzy, MSM&W came back for a stunning encore. The pissed off demoralized crowd charged the stage and completely dismantled the “special fuckers only” section, sending the moms and pops running. Barricades were shoved aside, and the crowd worked together to remove the hundreds of stupid folding chairs in front of the stage. We made a conga line to pass the chairs off to the side where they were deposited atop one of the temporary flower beds. This was all done in a swift and orderly fashion. The thousands of bullshit “security” and “event coordinators” stayed right where they were – which was smart thinking on their part.
The encore was as it should be. A free concert for the fucking people.